Patiparn Jaikampan has won the Einojuhani Rautavaara Chamber Choir Composition Competition. The prize consists of a cash prize of 7000 euros plus a commission to write a work for the Helsinki Chamber Choir, worth 4000 euros. The members of the jury were Mauricio Sotelo, Cornelia Bend, Kaspars Putniņš and Johan Tallgren. The audience also voted for their favourite. The audience prize was awarded to Raphaël Languillat.

The competition final took place at the Time of Music festival in Viitasaari, Finland on 6 July 2016. In the concert the Helsinki Chamber Choir was conducted by Nils Schweckendiek. The five finalists were selected on the basis of anonymous applications. Before completing their final work for the competition they worked with the Helsinki Chamber Choir, Nils Schweckendiek and composers Ondřej Adámek and Jukka Tiensuu in a workshop held in Helsinki.

The 2nd International Rautavaara Competition is organized by the Helsinki Chamber Choir and the Viitasaari Time of Music Festival in association with Tenso Network Europe. The Competition Founder and Artistic Director is Nils Schweckendiek and the event is generously supported by the Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne and the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation.

Competition Finalists

Eugene Birman (USA)

Patiparn Jaikampan (Thailand)

Raphaël Languillat (France/Germany)

Matilda Seppälä (Finland)

Diana Soh (Singapore/France)

Competition Jury

Mauricio Sotelo, composer and conductor (Chairman)

Cornelia Bend, manager, SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart

Kaspars Putniņš, conductor

Johan Tallgren, composer, festival director

A CHANGE IN THE JURY 29 January 2016

We regret to announce that Georg Friedrich Haas has had to withdraw from the jury of the Einojuhani Rautavaara Competition for personal reasons. However, we are delighted to welcome the renowned composer and conductor Mauricio Sotelo as the new chairman of the jury. The final concert will be held at the Time of Music festival in Viitasaari, Finland on 6 July 2016, with Nils Schweckendiek conducting the Helsinki Chamber Choir. The other members of the jury will be Cornelia Bend, Kaspars Putniņš and Johan Tallgren. For more information on Mauricio Sotelo, please visit:www.mauriciosotelo.com

PRESS RELEASE 29 September 2015

Five participants selected for the Einojuhani Rautavaara Composition Competition

The jury has chosen five young composers to take part in the International Einojuhani Rautavaara Composition Competition on the basis of applications marked with a pseudonym. The chosen competitors are from Finland, France, Singapore, Thailand and the USA. 72 applications were received from 34 different countries and from composers of 38 different nationalities. There were five applications from Finnish composers. In addition to the finalists, two reserve places were also awarded. The preliminary selection jury consisted of the composer Perttu Haapanen, the composer and musicologist Leo Samama and the conductor Nils Schweckendiek.

The chosen participants have the opportunity to work on their compositions in a workshop with the Helsinki Chamber Choir in November 2015 before they write their final submissions for the competition. The teachers in the workshop will be the composers Ondřej Adámek and Jukka Tiensuu. The final concert of the competition will take place at the Time of Music festival in Viitasaari, Finland on 6 July 2016, and the winner will be awarded the Einojuhani Rautavaara Prize, consisting of a cash prize of 7000 euros and a commission worth 4000 euros.

The event is organised by the Helsinki Chamber Choir and Time of Music festival in association with Tenso Network Europe. It was founded by its current artistic director, Nils Schweckendiek, and is generously supported by the Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne and the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation.

The chosen participants are:

Eugene Birman (USA)

Patiparn Jaikampan (Thailand)

Raphaël Languillat (France/Germany)

Matilda Seppälä (Finland)

Diana Li Ling Soh (Singapore/France)

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2.7.2015

We regret to announce that Beat Furrer has unfortunately had to withdraw from teaching the Einojuhani Rautavaara Workshopin November 2015 for personal reasons. However, we are very pleased thatOndřej Adámek has agreed to take his place and will teach the workshop alongside Jukka Tiensuu. For a biography of Ondřej Adámek, please seehere.

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The Einojuhani Rautavaara Workshop and Competition is organised by the Helsinki Chamber Choir and the Viitasaari Time of Music Festival, in association with Tenso Network Europe.

Founder and Artistic Director: Nils Schweckendiek.

The International Einojuhani Rautavaara Chamber Choir Composition Workshop and Competition is an opportunity for young composers to work intensively with a professional chamber choir. Applications are invited from composers of any nationality born between 1 November 1980 and 31 October 1997 inclusive.

Participants will work with the Helsinki Chamber Choir and two renowned composers in a Workshop before writing their final work for the Competition. The Competition will take place in Helsinki and at the Viitasaari Time of Music Festival on 4-6 July 2016. At the conclusion of the final concert, an international jury will award the Einojuhani Rautavaara Prize.

Participants will receive free accommodation and a contribution towards their travel expenses. Application to the Workshop and Competition is free.

Applicants’ attention is also drawn to the Tenso Young Composers Workshop, which is aimed especially at composers with limited experience of writing for choirs.

Supported by

"Working with the Helsinki Chamber Choir was beyond any expectations a composer might have when taking part in a competition. The process was a constant back-and-forth stream of feedback at the end of which I got a highly professional performance.”

Since winning the Rautavaara Competition, Zesses Seglias has been commissioned by Klangforum Wien and the Bregenzer Festspiele.